Adriatic Cruise – Corfu, Greece

For our last day on the Adriatic coast, we decided to take another excursion tour.  This was the last day of the last cruise for the season, and as we approached, our tour guide was saying goodbye to all the Thomson crew members that she knew.  This lady was awesome, a classic Greek mom.  She had a bossy attitude with a genuine kindness that she showed everywhere we went.  She was older than us, probably in her 60’s, and kept referring to the group as her children, even though the average age of the tourists were probably higher than hers.  “Come my children, follow me,” she would often say.  She was agitated by a competing French tour group and went off on their guide in French, so that the other tourists would know what she was saying about him.  Classic! 

She could talk about Greece and Corfu for hours and she knew incredible amounts of detail about various parts of the island.  She first took us to a monastery and showed us around the beautiful grounds.
Girls in traditional costumes greeted us at the monestary:

Inside the church, where plenty of incense was burning:

One of the many monastery cats strolling the patio:

Tile and vines at the monestary:

A monastery cat enjoying the veranda:


After the monestary, we went to one of the beaches nearby and she gave us some time to stroll leisurely along the beach coves and we even skipped some stones off the calm, clear water.
Paleokastritsa Beach:

Us on the beach:

Back on the bus had us driving through small towns and villages along the mountainous terrain Corfu.  One of the towns had its road blocked for a parade and monument dedication.  Turns out, we were there on a national holiday, “No Day,” commemorating the day that Greece said no to Italian dictator Mussolini, who wanted occupy them in order to gain a military advantage during the Second World War.  We got out of the bus and saw a band perform, dedications read, and wreaths laid at the monument in the town center.
Wreathes laid at the local war memorial in celebration of "No Day":

After we got back on the bus, we went to the highest point of Corfu and stopped at a café for some baklava -  delicious.  The view from the café was breathtaking.  On our return journey to Corfu Town, we stopped at a lookout and got a nice view of the some islands and the local airport where we would be taking off from later that night.  When we returned to the ship, we bummed around for a few more hours before boarding the bus to the airport for our flight back to England. 
View of Corfu island from Bella Vista:

Local islands:

They cruise was a success!  The service of Thomson employees was superb; they made our vacation amazing.  After arriving back at Luton Airport, we made the drive home and got to see our Cooper once again.  I think we’ll go on another cruise sometime before we leave England, maybe to the Fjords of Norway… we’ll see!

~Blake

Adriatic Cruise – Dubrovnik, Croatia

There just wasn’t enough time in the day to experience all that Dubrovnik has to offer.  We had to prioritize our list of recommended stops and find the most efficient way to seem them.  That, of course, meant that I had to get us lost within minutes of departing the bus, just outside the old city walls. 
Finding our way, but enjoying the view:

After a slight detour, and a long debate over which way was the “right” way, we climbed the steep, rocky slopes of Fort Lovrijenac.  The fort had a sense of emptiness, a sort of eerie feeling like there had been battles fought there and many lives lost.  Turns out it was just used as a concert venue and the season had probably just ended, so it was indeed very empty.
Blake inside the fort:

Canon guarding the city from potential threats by sea:

View of Dubrovnik from the fort:

Then we found our way back to the city gates and entered the Old Town.  Immediately we were stunned by the immense beauty around us.  Ancient architecture, glossy stone streets, and even battle wounds adorned the city.  We began by strolling through the streets and seeing all the buildings and sites from the outsides and reading all their details in our guidebook.  We walked along the harbor and noted how adorable the stray cats seemed to be.  They enjoy hanging out by the fishermen, hoping to snag some scraps.  From the age and size of the cats, they seem to be doing just fine.
The city's giant fountain has provided water since the Middle Ages:

St. Blaise's Church (patron saint of Dubrovnik):

City harbor:

Blake gets chummy with a local:

We took the “wall tour” which was an hour long hike along the top of the city walls.  This gave Lindsay the opportunity to photograph the whole city from pretty much every angle.  The orange tiles on the roofs of the buildings were mostly new, replacing those damaged in the recent conflict in the country.
Us along the top of the wall:

View of the main street from the wall:

Looking back at Fort Lovrijenac from the wall:

Orange rooftops of the Old Town viewed from the highest point on the wall:

That hike wore us out.  We stopped for gelato on the Stradun (main street) before heading back towards the city bus to take us back the ship.  Truly the "Pearl of the Adriatic", Dubrovnik was everything we’d hoped it would be! Magnificent!

Strolling the main street:

Happy tourists!:

~Blake

Adriatic Cruise – Split, Croatia

Our stop in Split was heavily guided by Rick Steves and his guide to Croatia.  We made our schedule of the day based on his recommendations for places to visit. 
Split coastline from the pier:

First, we walked along the shore-line towards Diocletian's Palace.  This “retirement home” for the Roman Emperor was built at the turn of the 4^th century and was the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia.  Since the time of the Romans, the palace has been used for various reasons, and to this day, many people live and own businesses inside of the Palace walls.  We started in the Catacombs beneath the palaces, and then toured various locations on the ground levels, to include the three palace gates. 
Palace catacombs:

Upper-palace peristyle:

Upper-palace ruins:

Palace 'golden' gate:

After that, we walked the perimeter and saw lots of shops and markets in the area.  We had lunch at a fantastic pizzeria recommended by Rick and ended our day strolling the promenade on the shore.  Diocletian knew that Split was going to be a star shining bright on the Dalmatia coast, with or without the Romans, and it led the way for a good Croatian port call for us.
Huge sculpture near the palace, by famous Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovic:

Harbor-side promenade:

Us on the promenade:

~Blake